One Thousand Gifts: February 21, 2011

I didn't get around to posting gifts last week, but gifts have still been counted...
#68 - Aniston sleeping in until 7:30!

#69 - a husband who works hard for his family

#70 - sleeping child's chubby little hand & arm poking through the crib slats

#71 - rainbow peppercorns painting the entire kitchen floor

#72 - fellow homeschool mom, Jennifer, who baked my cookies for me when I had a sick one (thank you again, Jennifer!)

#73 - a date with my beloved firstborn

#74 - surprise visit from Grandma who was armed with Valentine's day treats

#75 - handmade valentines from my little valentines :)

#76 - Valentine scavenger hunt, hosted by Pierce

#77 - candlelight dinner with my five loves

#78 - each of us sharing "what I love about..." one another

#79 - victory

#80 - all four kids playing together outside

#81 - 60 degrees, the park, a walk - in February!

#82 - a fat cat in the local mom & pop hardware store

#83 - two girls always sitting on the counter watching me work in the kitchen

#84 - $64 saved in 14 days, using coupons

#85 - productivity in the kitchen

#86 - an shimmery egg-yolk flower :)

food

in my kitchen today...

three batches of chicken broth made

blueberry muffins baked

chocolate chip banana muffins baked

chocolate chip banana muffins eaten :)

banana bread baked

chicken noodle soup made (from chicken broth)

enchilada sauce made (using chicken broth)

chicken tortilla soup prepared

on-sale green peppers chopped & frozen

homemade pizza made

homemade pizza eaten

pudding made

cream whipped

pudding with whipped cream eaten

in my freezer now...

8-1/2 pints of chicken broth

6 pints of chicken noodle soup

tons of green peppers

16 blueberry muffins

in my fridge now...

2 gallons of chicken tortilla soup

leftover pizza

NO leftover pudding :)

for breakfast tomorrow...

banana bread with a little butter

(or for some: butter with a little banana bread)

for lunch tomorrow...

chicken tortilla soup

corn bread

in (and around) my sink right now...

roughly 937 dirty dishes, utensils, pots, pans, measuring apparatus

so
worth
it
:)

happiness is...

Price!pinx

Have you discovered Price!pinx yet? I discovered it months ago but finally started using it yesterday, and oh.my.goodness. I'm in love.

It's so simple, it seems like cheating.

From Price!pinx.com:

Price!pinx allows you to request Price Drop Alerts for any product on almost any website. This free service smoothly integrates into your online shopping experience by using a smart bookmarklet: on the retailer’s website you simply click the smart bookmarklet which automatically records the product information and the price for you. Price!pinx then monitors the price and notifies you by email about price drops as they happen.

Here's how it works:

1. Sign up for a FREE account at Price!pinx
2. Install the bookmarklet (which places a button on your toolbar)
3. Go to your favorite websites, find products you're interested in but would like to wait until the price is cheaper, go to the product page, highlight the price, and click the !pinx button on your toolbar.
4. Price!pinx then tracks that item for you and notifies you when the item price has dropped.
5. That's it!

I !pinx-ed a few items yesterday (anything from CFL bulbs to books to vitamins to a CD player). This morning I checked my email to discover that TWO items had significant price drops (unfortunately one of the price drops was very short-term and I missed the deal).

This is such a great option for something you know you're going to buy in the future because you can wait for the rock-bottom price, without having to check on it all the time. Fabulous!

{this post linked to works for me wednesday and frugal fridays}

Mending, Part 2

Today I had a phone conversation with a fellow believer who is drowning in the deep pit of depression, and as I heard this person speak, I finally knew why I have suffered from mild to severe depression for as long as I can remember:

So God could rescue me from that depression just in time to help this hurting soul.

This fellow believer is struggling with some of the same things I've struggled with, and this is part of what I heard today:

"I just don't believe that I'm forgivable. I know the Bible says I am but I don't believe it. I look at all the sins I've committed in my life; they could fill a thousand-page book. And some of them are really bad. I just don't see how God can forgive me."

I immediately recognized this as one of the things I used to believe. Even until about a month ago, I believed that I was unforgivable on some level. Deep deep down, I was holding on to my past sins. I was punishing myself daily. Hourly. It haunted me. It ate me alive. It invoked fear and panic in the depths of my soul, where peace that passes understanding was meant to reside.

But God has been ripping out seams and mending, and part of that process involved teaching me that it's okay to forgive myself.

It's okay.

It's okay.

So I shared into the phone what God showed me.

I shared that by holding onto my past sins, harboring unforgiveness towards myself, I was essentially telling Jesus that his blood covers all, except my sins.

I was telling Jesus that the precious blood He spilled at Calvary wasn't good enough for me.

What arrogance!

And what a lie.

Exposing that lie was one of the many ways God has been mending my life.

Living in His forgiveness - thus forgiving myself - feels like shackles falling away, freeing me from the prison of my own self-punishment.

And it feels so good to be free.

[God] canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

Colossians 2:14 (NLT)

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Psalm 103:12 (NIV)

what a man

Last night as I finalized our taxes, I decided to be the true nerd that I am and go through all of Chris's pay stubs so I could crunch some numbers.

You know, just for fun. Because I am not ashamed to admit that I am a math geek at heart.

My name is Danielle, and I geek math.

There.

Anyway, here's what I figured out about my husband, by the numbers:

9: Total number of paid holiday hours during the entire year

188.25: Dollars spent on uniform service

90: Total hours of vacation used

45: Total hours actually used for legitimate day off

45: Hours used that would technically fall under sick time, but sick time isn't offered at his company

2,819.25: Total hours worked in 2010

54.22: Average hours actually worked per week


All I can say is...

What a man. :)

(And "thanks"...I called him this morning to thank him...he certainly doesn't hear it enough.)

One Thousand Gifts: February 7, 2011

So much to be thankful for...always...

#52 - blanket forts

#53 - brilliant white landscape amidst a winter storm

#54 - "snow days" (even homeschoolers get those sometimes, right?)

#55 - hot chocolate & games with the kids on a snow-day afternoon

#56 - the unexpected, welcome, chirp of three swallows bouncing around outside the window, bringing life to a lifeless winter flower bed

#57 - later sunsets and lengthening days

#58 - a smiling moon

#59 - coupons and sales, and better yet: combining the two

#60 - a tidy home upon returning from grocery shopping

#61 - catching my oldest (who has recently found a love for reading fiction) on yet another adventure

#62 - watching my second-born get excited about his huge pile of books from the library, knowing that at this time last year, he was struggling to put three-letter words together

#63 - hearing the announcement from second-born son that he finished his pile of books already, less than 24 hours after getting home

#64 - eating smashed potatoes with Mom & Dad

#65 - a date with my soft-spoken Xander, who really finds his voice when he's separated from his talkative siblings :)

#66 - the challenge of Aniston, who has given a whole new definition to the terrible trying twos

#67 - when I am weak, He is strong

Goals Progress

I have just under 8 months left to complete my 90 goals.  Here's an update on my progress, along with some thoughts next to some of them. :)

The List:(Italicized items are in progress. Struck-through items are completed.)

Spiritual/Charity:
1. * Have scripture reading & meditation, and prayer time every day for 30 consecutive days. (2 times) [2/2]
2. Seek out families to bring a meal to. (4 times) [4/4]
3. Lead our family in sending an evangelistic care package to a man or woman serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
4. * Read through the entire Bible at least once.
5. Clean the trash out of the ditches from our house to the end of the gravel road.
6. * Share the gospel with 30 people (can use gospel tracks). [1/30]
7. Send 10 cards of encouragement. [6/10]
8. Sponsor a Compassion child. April 2009
9. * Read a chapter in Proverbs to the children each day for 4 weeks. (2 times) [2/2]
10. Unplug (no TV, computer, or radio) for 2 days. (4 times) [3/4] This one will be much easier to complete now that I'm not watching TV anymore!
11. Walk/run a race for a good cause.
12. * No complaining AT ALL for 3 consecutive days. (2 times) [2/2] Praise God for how far I've come in this! He is so faithful!


Marriage:
13. Watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy with Chris (Why is this one in “marriage”? Because if I can suffer through this, then we know that our marriage can withstand ANYTHING! Haha!).  I would just like to state that I am now an avid fan of the LOTR trilogy. I could watch one of them every weekend, they're SO good!
14. Have 10 dates with Chris (can include “home” dates…as long as they are kid-free and fun/romantic). [10/10]
15. * Make Chris’s lunch every day for 4 weeks straight
16. * Establish regular Bible study and prayer time as a couple.
17. Wash Chris’s feet in an act of love.
18. * No nagging for 7 consecutive days (doesn't count to do this one during a week when he's working crazy hours).


Kids/Family:
19. Take a 5+ day vacation. We had a 9-day staycation and I'm counting it here! :)
20. * Reinforce chores for 4 weeks straight. (2 times) [2/2]
21. Take a mini-vacation. (2 times) [1/2]
22. Have 6 one-on-one dates per child. [5/18]
23. * Be 100% consistent in discipline for 7 days. (2 times) [2/2]
24. Have a “girls’ night” with Emmy after she’s turned three. (2 times) [1/2]
25. Go biking at The Lake with the family. (8 times) [0/8]
26. * Don’t raise my voice or show anger at all for 3 consecutive days. (2 times) [2/2]
27. Go camping as a family.
28. Start the boys on music lessons.
29. Enroll the boys in one extracurricular activity per season for one year. [4/4]


Relationships:
30. Get involved in a couple’s Bible study. April 2009
31. Get involved in a women’s Bible study.
32. Open my home to someone (friend or not) once per week for 4 consecutive weeks. (2 times) [2/2]
33. Have a shopping day with Mom – ALL DAY! – complete with breakfast, lunch, supper, and coffee. (2 times) [0/2]
34. Send an “update letter” to grandparents that we don’t see often, complete with pictures and kids’ creations. (10 times) [4/10]


Financial:
35. Build our Emergency Savings Fund. We had accomplished this one, and we had an emergency (vehicle troubles plus some other things!) so now we're rebuilding our fund.
36. Reduce unsecured debt by 25% using Dave Ramsey’s plan. As of today, we've reduced our debt by 22%...getting there!
37. Get Disability Insurance for Chris.
38. Get better Life Insurance.
39. * Have bi-weekly financial meetings with Chris for 3 months straight.
40. Open a Health Savings Account for me and possibly the kids.
41. Don’t dine out for 1 month.
42. Don’t use the clothes dryer AT ALL for 14 consecutive days (read: use the clothes line. Thought I'd better throw that in there so I'm not tempted to accomplish this goal by letting the laundry pile up!). (2 times) [2/2]


Health/Wellness:
43. Lose the 52 pounds. I don't want to talk about this one. :)
44. Run a 10K or more. PFFT. Ha!
45. * Work out 30 minutes, 5 times a week, for one month straight.
46. * No soda for 30 days. (2 times) [1/2]
47. * No sugar/carbs for 2 weeks. (2 times) [0/2]
48. Have a yearly physical exam. (2 times) [0/2]
49. * Take my multi-vitamin daily for 4 weeks.
50. Learn how to make a GOOD homemade whole wheat bread.
51. Learn how to make a GOOD homemade pizza.
52. * Try “Whole Foods Only” for 30 days. I didn't follow the guidelines for what "whole foods" technically are, but I didn't eat any processed food whatsoever, which was what I had originally meant by "whole foods". HUGE difference in how I feel physically! I'm in the process of getting my recipes either converted to all-natural, non-processed foods (excluding flour and sugar...not ready to go there yet), or I'm tossing them out.

School:
53. Start teaching the boys either Latin or Spanish. The kids love learning Spanish!
54. Make/buy 30 new learning centers/games/activities. [11/30]
55. Take 15 field trips. [11/15]
56. Find a History/Geography curriculum we like.
57. Teach Emmersyn how to read. She's getting closer!

Homemaking:
58. * Stay on top of laundry for 1 week straight (Laundry washed the same day a full load is available, and folded & put away within 24 hours of being washed. Doesn’t include partial loads.) (4 times) [3/4]  Right now there are no fewer than 6 baskets of laundry waiting for me to fold them.
59. Organize my recipes. Completed 2009.04.13
60. * Do 30-day “make ahead” meals for 3 consecutive months. This doesn't work for this season of my life, so I'm just crossing it off the list. Is that cheating?
61. Finish hanging wall décor.
62. Plant evergreen trees.
63. Try 5 new vegetables. [1/5]
64. Plant a garden. Completed 2009.05.03
65. * Make bed every day for a month.
66. Make a detailed house cleaning schedule. Completed 2009.05.05
67. Plant 10 new bushes/perennials in our yard. [0/10]
68. Shampoo the carpet on the stairs. We have new carpet to replace the old stuff, so I just crossed this one off, since it's no longer necessary.
69. * Have supper on the table by 6:00 p.m. for 10 consecutive days. (2 times) [0/2] I changed this one from 5:30 to 6:00 because 5:30 just doesn't work most days for Chris's work schedule.


Intellectual Growth:
70. Read 10 Pulitzer Prize-winning novels. [5/10]
71. Re-read/study the Constitution.
72. Re-read/study the Declaration of Independence.
73. Read newspaper from front to back (excluding sports/comics). (5 times) [2/5]


Misc:
74. Finish each of the kids’ “first-year” scrapbooks. [0/4] I crossed this one off because I've decided I'm not doing scrapbooks anymore...it's just not something I enjoy enymore so I'm not gonna do it! :)
75. Start and finish Chris’s Marine Corps scrapbook.
76. Finish and legalize our wills.
77. Take household inventory for insurance purposes.
78. Sell or give away “the pile” of stuff in the basement.
79. Paint kitchen ceiling.
80. Get our honeymoon photos developed & put into an album. Where oh where can I develop Advantix Film from a decade ago???
81. Put the kids’ greeting cards into scrapbooks. [4/4]
82. * Back up important files/photos at least bi-monthly. [15/15]
83. * Keep inside of van clean for 30 days.


Just for Fun:
84. Get my old blog put into “book format”.
85. Get this blog put into “book format” for the year 2008.
86. Dress up with the kids for trick-or-treating. This one didn't happen last October so I guess it ain't happenin' before my cut-off date.
87. Practice shooting Chris’s pistol. (6 times) [2/6]
88. Go to Red Lobster with Chris.
89. Blog every day for 30 consecutive days.
90. Make my own custom blog background.